


The Bond That Holds Us Upright

by traumschwinge



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Coping, F/M, Feminist Themes, HBIC Emma Frost, Multi, Period-Typical Sexism, Telepathic Bond, Telepathic Sex, Threesome - F/M/M, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-07
Updated: 2020-03-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:41:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23044945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/traumschwinge/pseuds/traumschwinge
Summary: In the winter of 1944/45, Erik finds himself face to face with a girl. Or it's a ghost that opened the door to his cell. He doesn't care beyond escaping from the horrors of Dr Schmidt's experiments. But while they run, they grow closer, become first like siblings and then like lovers. But the horrors of their childhood always hang over them. They always will, until they find Dr Schmidt and make sure he will never hurt anyone ever again.
Relationships: Emma Frost/Erik Lehnsherr, Emma Frost/Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier
Comments: 11
Kudos: 12
Collections: X-Men Rare Pairs 2020





	The Bond That Holds Us Upright

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by [InsertSthMeaningful](https://archiveofourown.org/users/InsertSthMeaningful/pseuds/InsertSthMeaningful) in the [xmenrarepairs20](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/xmenrarepairs20) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> So what if Frost joined Shaw before Erik's escape and the two poor abused mutant kids grew up together? And escaped together? And kinda loved each other like siblings but also like lovers?  
> Let them meet Charles together, let them desire him together. Let them kill Shaw together. And please give the three of them a happy ending.

Erik thought the girl was an apparition. A pale, sickly, apparition in the same dirty clothes as him. Her hair was short, there were dark circles under her eyes, her cheeks were drawn, her arms and legs were barely more than sticks inside the rough fabric of her clothes. She was staring at Erik, slowly raising a hand to point at him. For a second, he wondered if she was the grim reaper, finally taking him away from this place of fear, pain, hunger and torment.

“Red,” she rasped. “They’re coming.”

Erik didn’t react. He was frozen in place.

When he didn’t react, the girl took a rattling breath before speaking again: “We need to go. The doctor is gone.”

That, finally, got Erik to his feet. Doctor Schmidt had left him behind. He… if he could get out, if he could get his powers to cooperate just long enough to escape… He reached out, reaching for the pit of rage inside him that helped him use his powers, no matter how exhausted he was. The thin sheet metal of the wall tore as he pulled at it, creating a hole for them to go through.

Without even thinking, Erik took the girl’s wrist, pulling her along as he started to run. He couldn’t feel many guards around, which was strange. But he didn’t dare to stop and think on it. They ran straight to the fence around the camp. Erik tried to make the wire rip and failed. He tried again, panic welling up in his chest when he failed once more.

“Stop,” the girl rasped. She was digging her heels a little to make him stop.

He glared at her.

“I… help.” She touched her deathly cold fingers to his forehead. _Focus._ He didn’t hear the word with his ears but her voice was suddenly clear in his mind. She helped him calm himself, concentrate for the moment it took him to make a hole in the fence. By the time they were done, they were both panting from exhaustion.

Erik forced himself to move again first, dragging the stumbling girl after him. They crawled under the fence, starting to run again immediately again. The girl kept stumbling. Erik knew she was slowing him down but he couldn’t bring himself to leave her behind. When she fell, he stopped. He let go of her wrist and knelt down.

“I’ll carry you,” he told her. She was so light. If he hadn’t felt her arms grip around his neck, he’d barely noticed. But she held on for her life as he hurried on. 

He didn’t dare stop until he was too tired to take another step.

#####

It took almost all of Erik’s courage to knock at the door. If he hadn’t been desperate, he’d have stayed away from any houses forever. He didn’t want to be around people. Emma excluded, because she wasn’t people, she was Emma. But they were both starving. He had to do something. So while Emma was still asleep, he’d carefully snuck out of their hiding place and walked to the nearest lonely farm.

He did his best to look even more miserable than he was. It wasn’t hard. His clothes were torn, he was much too thin and dirty. The problem was, most people probably looked like him. The war hadn’t been over for more than a couple of months, if Emma was correct. Not that Erik had heard any news. He hadn’t talked to anyone but Emma since they’d left the camp.

The farmer who eventually opened the door a crack was old, drawn and very wrinkly. Erik wasn’t sure if it was an old man or an old woman. He swallowed to get his dry throat to work. It also hopefully stopped the farmer from noticing that he was hiding his arm. “Help, I’m so hungry,” he croaked. “Please.”

The farmer’s one visible eye softened a little with pity. “Oh, poor boy, we don’t have anything much anymore either…” Even from the voice, Erik couldn’t tell their gender. “Wait a moment, I’ll see if I can find you something, son.”

The door was slammed closed in Erik’s face. He waited, leaning against the wall to conserve his strength. He would have to walk back with whatever he’d be given. It wasn’t a short walk.

He’d almost given up hope when the door creaked back open. “There you are,” the farmer said, pushing something into Erik’s hands. The door slammed closed again. Erik could feel a lock being put in place. He sighed. He’d been given a rather wrinkly, suspiciously squishy turnip. It was food. Probably. At least they’d eat that night.

Emma wasn’t impressed with the turnip. She’d dug up some beechnuts for them to eat as they had eaten for weeks now, together with berries and various weeds. Erik had tried to catch some game with little success. The turnip roasted on a stone near a fire was almost a feast by their standards.

“That’s pathetic,” Emma sighed.

“They didn’t have anything either.”

“Of course they did.” Her mouth pressed into a thin line, Emma poked the turnip with a stick. “They’re just selfish.”

“The farmer looked just as hungry as us,” Erik protested. “And I still got food!”

“Well.” Emma shot him a look that left no doubt what she thought of considering the turnip ‘food’. “It’s better than beechnuts,” she finally conceded. “Next time, I’ll go beg for food.” She tapped the side of her head. “It’s not like people can lie to me.”

Erik tried to sulk the next day when she was gone but it was hard to keep up with it when she came back with an armful of somewhat fresh food.

#####

They settled down in a city, eventually. It might have been months, maybe close to a year. They’d spent all the time walking, wandering aimlessly. After a couple of weeks, they’d joined other refugees. Emma was handling things. She did most of the talking and always made sure nobody saw anything they weren't supposed to. They passed as siblings. The story suited them. Nobody questioned why they were clinging to each other so much.

Erik got a job. Then another. Doing anything he could to earn them some money. Emma spent the days out and about, too. For the first two, three years, they could both scrape up a living.

Then, the men started coming back from the POW camps of the allied forces. Neither Erik nor Emma liked the change. More than once, one would come home to find the other having a fit. They held onto each other even more. Finally, they decided to get moving again. They ended up in a small town, just big enough to allow for a shred of anonymity.

Emma found them a flat. It was tiny and needed her telepathic talents for them to sign the lease. Despite everything, despite them working every day, life was nice.

Through an unspoken agreement, they both kept their ears and eyes open. If Dr. Schmidt would ever resurface, they’d find him. Emma had even put up a missing person’s report with the Red Cross. Her determination made her eyes sparkle in a way that sent sparks off inside Erik’s chest. She knew, but she didn’t mention it for a while. Eventually, they abandoned the separate beds for good.

In 1958, Emma had been searching for Schmidt most of her time. She’d been laid off work years before, with the gentle note from her employer that women weren’t needed anymore now that the men were finally coming back and that her husband surely would appreciate her spending more time being a housewife. People had started remarking that she should think about kids. She hated it. Erik let her be. He did make sure there was contraception around, though.

One time, when she came home from a trip to the state capital for research, she was in a foul mood. Erik didn’t even try to calm her. He served them dinner and waited until she was ready.

“You will marry me,” Emma stated flatly. She was grinding her teeth as she said it. “You will and if you ever use any of your legal rights against me, I’ll… I’ll…”

“Turn you into a mind-controlled puppet?” Erik ventured. He reached across the table and put his hand over hers. “Emma. I’d never. What happened?”

She pulled her hand back to clutch it to her chest. A moment later, she stood, staggering over to the couch where she rolled up into a ball. Erik followed, sitting down at the other end.

“I was told I needed my husband’s permission for the bank withdrawal,” she muttered. There was a sort of helpless anger in her voice.

“So you made the teller think you had it?” Erik guessed. He wanted to reach out and take her into his arms but was afraid she’d lash out. Instead, he just took care to project the offer of a hug. The answer was a feeling of a frown, but also a wave of warm feelings.

Emma unrolled briefly to lean against him. He put his arms around her. “The point is, Erik, that I shouldn’t have to. Am I less a person because I am not a man? Am I a threat to pretending the past half a century didn’t happen when I demand rights? All I want… I want justice.” The way she pronounced the word, it could just as well have been revenge.

Erik swallowed. He wanted that, too. He understood where she came from. He’d even asked to make sure he could pretend he was a nice Christian. It hurt but at the same time, not doing so made him feel worse. He still thought everytime he passed any policeman, any man or woman, really, how little it would take to make him the other all over again. “Never again,” he murmured, his nose pressed into Emma’s full hair. “Never again is still too soon.”

It was her turn to take his hand and squeeze it. “I can’t live here anymore,” she admitted finally. “I have no idea where to go. But I can’t go on like this. Not here.”

“We could follow the trail to Switzerland,” Erik mused. “After we get married. Life’s easier with real passports.”

“Switzerland.” Emma sighed. “And then wherever that leads us.” She turned, cradling Erik’s head in her hands as she rose to her knees to better look him in the eyes. “I swore I’d never take your home from you again.”

“Then marry me.” Erik’s heart couldn’t decide if it wanted to stop or leap from his chest. “You’re the only home I need.”

#####

Erik tugged his tie in place and straightened his spine. He was wearing a well-cut suit Emma had picked. To use her words, purred and laden with promises for later that evening, he looked so sharp he might cut people. He hoped he would. He wasn’t on his way to a courtesy visit.

Getting an appointment with the bank manager was easy with a combination of confidence that he belonged and well-placed lies and threats. Nobody beat Emma when it came to threats, but Erik was giving her a run for her money. Once inside the office, he locked the door with a flick of his wrist and his powers. He didn’t need the gesture. It was all for his audience of one very nervous bank manager.

“I’m sure you’ve been told why I’m here,” Erik drawled as he stalked closer. “I know about the gold in your strong room and where it came from. How it was obtained by the people you made business with. About the blood that’s on it, the blood of six million people.” He stopped at the desk, leaning forward and yet still towering over the ever shrinking manager. 

“What do you want?” the manager yelped. He was furiously pushing a button that Erik had cut the connection of before he’d even entered the room. Manipulating the electronic wires around him came as easy as breathing by now. Much thanks to Emma. “Securité!” the manager called when Erik didn’t immediately answer.

Erik tutted. He made the fillings in the man’s teeth vibrate, pulling just enough to get the man’s full attention. “I need the address of one of your customers. Schmidt, Dr. Klaus Schmidt. That is all.”

The manager blanched. “I… I’m sorry. So sorry. I don’t…” he stammered.

“You don’t have it? Well then…” Erik pulled a little harder at the fillings. One of them was starting to come loose.

“Wait,” the manager gargled out. “Wait.” His sigh of relief when Erik released the hold of his powers was a full-body affair. “I can give you the address of his associates. In Argentina.”

“Argentina?” Erik mused. He stood back. “Well, that would be a start.” He waited for the man to copy the address and telephone number from his address book. With a pleased smirk, Erik tucked the paper into his breast pocket. “Thank you for your cooperation. I’ll be in touch, if this proves to be a false lead. Oh and…” He pulled at the loose filling with his powers until it snapped free. The manager whimpered in pain. “You should do something about all that gold. I’m sure you’ll find yourself suddenly very charitable. Have a nice day.”

Erik found Emma in a café once he’d left the bank. She looked wonderful in her immaculate white dress, with the big sunglasses and wide-brimmed hat. Her pink painted lips curled into a smile as he approached. She tugged her sunglasses down just enough to look at him over the rim. He recognized the sparkle in her eyes.

“Schatz, how do you feel about a honeymoon in Argentina?” he purred, once he’d ordered a coffee with the waiter. “The bank manager told me it was spectacular this time of year.”

Emma’s smile widened. “Did he now?” She allowed the waiter to set down Erik’s coffee before continuing. “Sugar, I thought you’d never ask.” She brushed her fingers over the back of his hand. The touch was electric and the thoughts she projected with it were decidedly indecent. “I can’t wait.”

#####

Argentina was warm. Hot, even, and humid. Erik wasn’t exactly surprised by the number of people who spoke German around them. He just tried not to flinch and speak Spanish as much as he could. Emma was masking the remnants of their accent with her telepathy, while constantly hanging at Erik’s arm. She’d gotten into the whole pretense of a couple on honeymoon on the boat ride over. When she didn’t like the people around them, she even giggled. Erik did his best to not look taking aback but she _knew_ and he knew _she was enjoying it_.

Asking around found them not only a reasonably priced hotel but also the small bar the bank manager back in Switzerland had given them the address of. They checked it out during lunch on their first day, ignoring the people around them. Emma convinced the waiter that they’d already paid. They didn’t have a hard time figuring the connection to Dr. Schmidt. The evidence was on the wall, in form of photographs of three smiling men, Dr. Schmidt in the middle between two others. Two others that were sitting at a table in the back, nursing their beer and chatting.

Erik glared daggers at them. It was too crowded during lunch to do more, like throwing an actual dagger at them.

Emma patted his arm. _«Soon,»_ she assured him in the privacy of their shared mind. He could feel her subtly nudging the other patrons to leave, in big enough intervals not to raise suspicion. She let him feel it, like she always allowed him to feel what she was doing. Like he kept his own mind open for her and her alone.

Soon barely came soon enough for Erik. But when the bar was finally deserted, save for the two men and the bartender, he got to his feet and stalked over to the back.

“ _Guten Tag, die Herren_ ,” he said, a predatory grin on his face. He could feel the knife in the pocket of one of them. He could feel the engraving on it before it was drawn at him so he could read it. The knife rammed itself into the table down to the guard. Erik tutted. “All I wanted was to make some pleasant conversation.” He held them in place with every bit of metal on their persons.

“What do you want?” one of them snapped.

The other interjected, “Who’re you with? Mossad? Fritz Bauer?” Erik let the man’s watch smack against his forehead.

“All I want is to know where your friend is.” Erik pointed at the photograph. “Where’s Schmidt?”

“Like we’d tell y-aargh!” Both men clutched their free hands to their heads in anguish. Erik turned to watch Emma walk over. She was fixing both men with her eyes, before turning her full attention to one of them. He whimpered.

“He’s in Miami,” she said. “And…” Her hesitation made Erik jump to his feet and pull her close.

“I get it,” he murmured. The knife draw back out of the table. With a flick of his wrist, it buried itself in its owner’s chest. It turned. Blood spurted from the wound as it pulled free to cut the other man’s throat. Erik hugged Emma closer.

“Let’s go,” Emma murmured.

#####

Miami agreed with Emma. The sun, the general easiness of the people who hadn’t seen war in their own land in almost a century, the drink. She was glowing with happiness when they were just looking around town like tourists and Erik was enjoying every second of it. She didn’t even mind when he pulled her into a spontaneous kiss under a palm tree.

Finding Dr. Schmidt was taking longer than expected. It took them days to find out he was going by Sebastian Shaw now. It took Emma even longer to find his mind and that was only for a moment before it disappeared again. They took a closer look at the marina where she’d sensed him at night. No matter what Erik said, Emma wouldn’t just stay back. He didn’t want to let her walk into danger, even if he knew she could handle herself. She finally conceded that she shouldn’t follow when they reached the end of the pier. Clinically, she pointed out a jacht to Erik and watched him strip to his tee and shorts in silence, keeping even her feelings to herself. Only when he was about to jump off the pier did she open her mouth, no word coming out. He turned to her as she surged forward to wrap him into a tight embrace. He returned it, holding onto her just as hard. Then, she pressed a kiss to his lips before letting go. A lump of ice settled in the pit of Erik’s stomach as he turned and jumped off the pier.

The water was icy cold. It was impossible to see anything beyond the faint streetlights in the distance. Erik relied on his sense of metal to guide him and Emma’s voice in his head guiding him toward the right yacht. They noticed something was wrong at almost the same time. The yacht wasn’t the right shape for a yacht, much too much metal beneath the water’s surface in comparison to the ship shaped metal floating on it.

 _«Come back here,»_ Emma suddenly said right into his mind, projecting a sense of urgency along with it and the image of a spotlight aimed at her that leaves Erik disoriented for a moment. Just at the same time, he could feel the hunk of metal dropping away below the yacht. He actually heard the engine starting up as the submarine sank. Blindly, panicked and acting entirely on instinct, he reached out with all his powers, pulling at the submarine like he could actually stop it. He couldn’t breathe. The water was pressing against his mouth and nose. He needed to breathe. He’d drown if he actually tried. He’d drown…

Arms wrapped around him, pulling him back, up, towards the surface, towards **air** , away from Schmidt, Shaw, whatever he was actually called. _«Let go, you have to let go,»_ a stranger’s voice pressed into his mind, past Emma’s shields, past his shields. The stranger couldn’t force him to do anything, but he was insistent, panicking just as much as Emma. Erik felt sluggish. He couldn’t let go, but his lungs burned so bad, he had to breathe in… close his eyes… breathe in…

He breathed in when his powers stopped working from one second to the next. After that, everything went dark.

#####

“You cannot detain us like this!” Emma’s irritation and her sharp voice were the first things Erik heard when he woke up again. He was lying on a bed. He could feel the boat, the large ship, they were on all around him. The sway made him feel a little sick but that feeling vanished when Emma’s familiar telepathy wrapped around his mind, shielding him from himself when he needed it. Whoever she was fighting with, she stopped and walked directly over to Erik. He could feel the bed dip slightly.

“Du Depp,” she whispered, switching back to English as she continued: “You could have drowned. Don’t ever do that again.” She didn’t say _to me_ , but Erik heard it just as clear.

He reached for her hand and squeezed it. His throat felt raw, too raw to talk. His chest hurt. Someone had revived him, probably. At least it didn’t feel like they’d broken any ribs.

Emma brushed his hair back. Her expression went soft. “We’re safe here,” she said. “Charles promises us we’re safe.”

“Charles?” Erik rasped. The voice in his head, the arms pulling him to the ocean’s surface…

Emma nodded. “Him. He’s… like us. Well, like me, mostly. But his sister is special, too.” The image of a blonde white girl morphing into an elderly man then a black woman then back the blonde white girl again flickered across Erik’s mind.

“Like us.” Erik looked over Emma’s shoulder at a young, brown-haired man. The man waved at him, his lips curling into a smile. With a groan, Erik laid back down. “Who’s he with?”

The young man spluttered, but Emma ignored him. “CIA. As a consultant, not an agent. I already told him we’re not working for any government.”

Erik made a non-committal noise. Emma was right, of course, they’d never work with any government agency. Not even for a pretty face making puppy eyes at them.

Emma smirked. «He is rather pretty, isn’t he?»

«Can’t he hear you?» Erik pushed to the front of his mind for her to pick up.

Emma shook her head. “Even if he could read our minds with me shielding, he only speaks English,” she said out loud. Erik made sure she could see the nice blush rising on Charles’ cheeks through his eyes.

Charles cleared his throat. “I’ll leave you to your husband, Emma. I have to go talk to the agents about letting you go as soon as we land.”

“Charles.” Erik sat up. He glanced briefly at Emma. “If they try to keep us against our will…” He deformed the door to the room. “I won’t let them succeed.”

Charles’ eyes lit up in wonder. “Understood.”

“He’s really quite something,” Emma noted after Charles had disappeared. “And that accent…”

“Those lips,” Erik added. He sighed. “Should I be worried?”

“Should I be?” Emma smiled. “I’m not, for the record. Just remember to include me when you talk him around.” She pressed a kiss to his lips. “I’d hate to be left out of _that_.”

#####

They left the CIA ship three days later in . Whether it was due to Charles’ charme or Erik’s threat, they weren’t sure. But none of the agents on board had ever even talked to Erik or Emma. They’d only talked to Charles, which had been pleasant, and Charles’ sister Raven, which Emma had enjoyed greatly. Erik had done his best to not listen when Emma was explaining feminist theories to Raven. He agreed with her on all points, but he was still aware of the societal expectations. It was easier to make sure Emma and Raven weren’t interrupted.

After they’d left the ship, they spent weeks trying to find another lead on what Shaw was planning, where he was. Erik spent so much time behind the wheel of their rental car in those weeks. They stayed in cheap motels along the road as they slowly made their way north. An acquaintance of an acquaintance of Shaw’s had mentioned a bar in Virginia. It was flimsy and it had taken them much too long to get it. Erik did his best to keep his frustration at bay, so maybe it was good that Emma refused to drive.

The first night in Virginia, Emma suddenly sat up in bed, completely ignoring Erik under her from one moment to the next. She swatted at him when he growled and tried to regain her attention so he had little other choice than to wait it out. She leaned her head to the side like she was listening. Her eyes took on a far-away look.

“Charles is inviting us to New York,” she finally said. “He needs our help. Shaw attacked the CIA. He thinks he might be better off with us instead of them.”

“In the morning,” Erik groaned. “Please, Emma.”

Emma looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling. She shifted her weight a little, which at least let Erik hope. “Fine,” she conceded. “We already paid for the room anyway.”

#####

Erik was convinced they had the wrong county. Not even the wrong house, the whole area had to be wrong. Nobody could live on estates that grand. Especially not somebody like Charles, who was… polished and charming and educated. The more Erik thought about it, the more he could see it. Charles would have made an exceptional fairy-tale prince. Emma laughed at his thought and mental image before directing him down an unmarked road. 

They eventually got to a gate, which Erik opened without even bothering to get out of the car and then closed after them. Beyond the gate, there was nothing indicating they’d entered a driveway. The road simply went on like it had before. There were woods on both sides. No paths branching off. Eventually, the paved road turned to cobblestones and then, when the palace like house came into view, to gravel.

Erik stopped the car next to two others at the end of the driveway. As he got out, he finally allowed himself to marvel at the building. It was at least three stories, not counting the attic and possibly basements. It had two wings branching off the main building. There were vast grounds around them, with perfectly manicured lawns and picturesque woods in the distance.

Erik leaned over to Emma as she came around the car to wait next to him. “Are we certain that Charles isn’t a prodigal son of the British king or something like that?” he whispered.

“Positive,” Emma smirked. “I’ve been in his head.”

“And he in yours,” Erik added, trying his best to not sound jealous.

“No, he wasn’t. I decided to show him how we met, that stopped him from snooping rather quickly.”

Erik’s eyes widened. He opened his mouth and closed it a couple of times. There were no words he could say to that. Emma patted his hand. “Come on, he said to come up to the living room.”

The inside of the manor was just as grand as the outside. It had a slight air of dust and museum to it. Not a house that had been lived in recently. They could hear voices from outside and others from deeper inside the house. Emma strode confidently ahead, leaving it to Erik to follow. She pushed open a door in a hallway that actually somewhat looked like someone living had been there recently. It opened into a comfortable little room with a set of couches and armchairs around a table. There was a plush carpet on the floor. Warm sunlight was streaming in through the grand windows. And in all of that sat Charles, staring at a book that he closed too quickly to be actually reading it.

“Emma! Erik!” he beamed. “You’re actually here! Not that I doubted you, Emma, it’s just so far out of the way and I asked and we’re basically strangers and…” He jumped to his feet, wiping his hands on his slacks, before shaking Erik’s hand. Emma ignored the offered hand and instead pulled Charles into a hug and kissed him on both cheeks. Erik saw the smirk on her lips when Charles blushed.

“We couldn’t leave you to deal with Shaw alone, sugar,” she said. “Who else have you got here? I know Raven, and that CIA agent… the cute English rose type… Moira, she’s here too.”

Charles fidgeted a little. “Moira and I… well, mostly me, to be honest, we went on a little recruiting trip.”  
The noise Emma made was utterly delighted. “So, those kids are all like us?” She didn’t even wait for an answer before she went over to the windows to look out at the backyard. Erik watched her delighted stance and then looked at Charles, shrugging briefly. He loved seeing her like that, but it was a rare occasion when he did.

“They’re all special, yes,” Charles confirmed, smiling just as happily as Emma did. It was catching. Almost. Erik managed a brief smile. “Less control over their powers than us, though. Less than Raven, too.” He joined Emma by the window so Erik followed as well. Pointing at one of the kids after the other, he told them about their powers and their level of control, as well as details from their lives.

“You have a knack to finding lost orphans and runaways,” Erik noted dryly. 

“I thought it’d be better to leave anyone with an intact home alone,” Charles admitted. “Although, it seems like most of those who are _like us_ don’t come from intact homes. Or have understanding parents. Or can live a normal life despite their powers.”   
“You seem to manage quite well,” Emma said. She was standing close enough to Charles to brush her arm against his. Erik pretended not to notice the blatant flirting when Charles shot him a look. “Are you planning on training them, here? Have they even graduated high school yet?”

“I hoped, well, it’s a bit of a dream, still, rather than a proper plan, but, one day, after this Shaw business is dealt with, I’d like to both train and provide an education for kids like them.” Charles sighed. “But for now, I’ll content myself to training, yes. And as I told you, Emma, I’d like both your help with it.”

“One condition: you accept that we come as a pair.” Erik gently took Charles’ hand. Charles hesitated for a second. Erik appreciated the brief look he shot Emma for confirmation before he squeezed Erik’s hand.

#####

The fact that Raven immediately snapped her mouth shut when he entered the room should have made Erik suspicious. Should have, because he was tired from holding up targets for Alex to aim at and holding up Sean when he forgot to scream while gliding all day and being in the same room as Emma meant he could let his guard down and still be safe. Or so he should be. Emma was smirking at him, projecting smugness very loudly into his mind. Charles, on the other hand, looked a little embarrassed.

“What’s going on?” Alex asked in Erik’s stead. Erik was too busy sitting down next to Emma and leaning against her to care all that much. “What did Raven do?”

“What do you mean what did I do? I did nothing! Nothing!” Raven protested.

Erik raised an eyebrow. “Have you been teasing Raven?” he asked Emma, so low that probably only Charles picked it up beside her and not with his ears. He could feel the light, comforting pressure of two telepaths in his mind.

“Shush, I’d never.” Emma patted his cheek. «She might have taken my advice on how to best pursue young Hank the wrong way, though. Apparently, I’m cheating on you with Charles behind your back.»

Erik snorted.

“See, even he thinks you’re not that innocent!” Raven waved a finger at Emma.

With a sigh, Erik sat up again. “Look, Raven, whatever Emma did or said, I can assure you, she did it on purpose.”

“You are supposed to defend me,” Emma laughed.

“I’m also supposed to not defend you because you can fight your own battles and don’t actually need any men in your life.” Erik kissed her cheek, to noises of fake protest from Sean and Alex. “I’m very lucky you still put up with me, though.”

“Gross,” Raven commented flatly. She shot Charles a glare. Not Emma, not Erik, Charles. Erik pushed the vague question at both telepaths.

«Raven thinks I’m trying to seduce a married woman,» Charles said. In Erik’s head, he sounded far more confident than his bashful demeanor. «Or letting myself be seduced. Probably both.»

«Well, you kind of did both,» Emma laughed. She punctuated her wounds with a couple of choice images of Charles in various states of dishevelment.

Erik subtly adjusted himself. «Do you have to?» The smugness he got back from both was answer enough. «You could save it for the bedroom.»

“Raven,” Erik sighed. “We’ve been married for more than ten years. I _am_ allowed to kiss my wife.”

“ _You_ are, yes.” Raven narrowed her eyes. She was now glaring so obviously at Charles that even Alex and Sean were catching on. They both gasped.

“Raven, really,” Charles started but he was interrupted by Raven: “No, Charles. You don’t get to have any input here before you learn to keep it in your pants.”

That was the point when Emma clapped her hands. “Boys, out, now,” she ordered. “I need to have a little chat with Raven. Alone. C’mon. Scram.” Her tone left no room for argument. Before she could decide to use her powers, Erik manhandled Charles out of the room, counting on the boys’ sense of self-preservation to follow them.

"What's going on?" Sean burst out when they were in the hallway.

Erik shout him a withering look. “Telepaths are special in a way only another telepath gets." A wave of thankfulness from Charles washed over him. Charles still had trouble believing that Erik actually understood that, even though he could read it in his mind.

"That's not an answer." Alex was wearing a sullen look and had his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Erik shrugged. "True, but it's all you'll get. I trust Emma. I trust Charles. And I don't want to discuss anything beyond that." 

"But..." The boys opened their mouths to protest but Erik shushed them with another glare. 

"One more word and you'll regret it,” he growled.

"Erik.” Charles put a hand on Erik’s forearm. 

Alex seemed to take that as support for their case. "Yeah, like the professor would let you."

"That's it.” Erik freed his arm. He glared at the boys until they cowered before him again. “You two, back to training. Charles, you said something about a bunker? I'm taking Alex.” He held up a finger when Alex opened his mouth.”No discussion. And Sean... go find Hank, tell him about the adjustments to your suit like you should anyway. Charles... uh..." He faltered. 

Charles smile. "I meant to find Moira."

Erik didn’t drag Alex to the bunker but it was a close thing. If not for Charles and Emma’s comforting presence in his mind, he’d have been much more nervous than he was. He hated having to think about his feelings and hated talking about them to other people even more. At least Emma just _knew_ and Charles was starting to get a good grip on it. Anger was a simple emotion. It was a good emotion. Interpersonal emotions like love, those were the difficult ones.

He didn’t talk while he set up targets around the bunker. He didn’t talk when he locked the door. He only said the minimum necessary words to make sure Alex knew what he expected him to do. Then, he went back to silence while he watched Alex struggle and fail to hit everything with less than a three meter diameter.

After about five tries, Alex stopped with a huff. He turned to glare at Erik. It wasn’t as good as Erik’s glare, but he was getting there. Erik was a little proud of that. The boy had some real potential. “So, is this how it’s going to be? You disapproving in silence as punishment?” Alex growled. “I get it. We overstepped. You don’t have feelings worth talking about. Can I stop now?”

Erik couldn’t stop his expression from going from one of mild disinterest to actual shock. “I… what?” He thought about what Alex said when Alex didn’t answer or even look at him. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. At least he had the vague feeling that he was doing wrong by Alex. It wasn’t a good one. “Feelings are always worth talking about,” he finally settled on.

“Yeah? But not with dumb kids, right?”

With a sigh, Erik sat down on the floor. “Come here. Let’s talk. Real talk.” He figured the boy deserved it. And that nobody had ever taken the time and effort to actually have this kind of talk with him. Better late than never.

Alex was dragging his feet a little, but he did come over to settle with his back to the bunker wall, his knees drawn up to his chest and glared at Erik over his crossed arms. “What?”

“You… We... “ Erik struggled for the right words. He drew a breath. “Have Charles or Raven mentioned how Emma and I grew up?” When Alex shook his head, he went on. “I… I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t think many who grew up like us did. We didn’t spend the war getting bombed. Or fighting. But…” He closed his eyes. “We’re after Shaw, because he tried to figure our powers out. In the camps. You know which camps.”

“Fuck,” Alex gasped. “Emma too? But she’s so…?”  
“Well adjusted?” Erik tried to help. “Perfect at controlling others perception of her? Yeah, that’s how she copes. She’ll never ever let anyone see any cracks because that’s how she can feel like she’s in control of her life. I… I simply get angry. That’s much easier. And it keeps people away. But…” He hated having to admit it. “We’re not role models for how to be a good adults. Neither is Charles, by the by. I’d look at Moira for that, if I were you.”

“Okay.” Alex uncurled a little. “But that’s not an answer to Raven’s… whatever Raven was doing.”

“No, just an explanation for why I didn’t want to answer the question.” Erik brushed his hair back with one hand. “But I should, shouldn’t I? Trust goes both ways, and you allowed Charles to drag you here and fight a fight that isn’t your own.”

“Charles and Moira found me in prison. Solitary. I was there for arson. And assault. And… I did a lot of crap. A whole lot.” He grimaced. “So, it’s not like I had much of a choice there. But… I appreciate the trust. It’s more than any foster parent ever offered, man.”

“I’m not your dad,” Erik smirked. “Emma would kill us both if we made her a mom.” That got a laugh out of Alex. “So. Emma and I. We never made a conscious decision to be together. But it’s good. I love her. I really really do. And then we met Charles and… Emma and he clicked like she never clicked with anyone before. Because of the whole telepath thing but also because they’re quite similar. And Charles and me... “ He shrugged. “He’s attractive.”

Alex snorted. “Yeah, he is. So you didn’t say no to… whatever you three have.”

“Exactly.” Erik pressed a finger to his lips. “Don’t tell Charles, but he’s easy to talk with and even easier to spend time with. He plays a mean game of chest.”

“Alright.” Alex stretched his legs, then jumped to his feet. “My lips are sealed.”

Erik got up as well. “Ready to blow something up? To clear the air. I think I have an idea on how to get you to focus your powers more easily…”

#####

“So, what did you tell Raven?” Erik asked later that night. They were in bed. He had his arm across her belly, his head resting on her shoulder, feeling tired and thoroughly sated. 

“I advice she’d use simple words with Hank to convey what she wants,” Emma drawled. She was lazily petting Erik’s hair. “But before that, I also told her that we’re grown people and know what we’re doing. And that we’re all in agreement. I think she’s a bit jealous that you’re not available for her.”

“She is not,” Charles gasped. Erik briefly opened his eyes to look at him, his glance immediately drawn to Charles bruised, glistening lips.

Emma pushed Charles’ head back down between her legs. “She is. Get back to licking.”

«Bossy,» Charles chuckled in their minds. His mouth was too busy to talk back.

“Not interested,” Erik rumbled.

“ **I** know that. She does too, now. Ah, yes, right there…” Her hips twitched upward. Erik used that as an excuse to start stroking his thumb against the underside of her breast. He still wasn’t quite recovered enough for more. Emma pushed his head gently toward hers so she could kiss him. He could feel every hitch of her breath on his tongue. Arousal came off her in waves. Both she and Charles were projecting their sensation to Erik. He groaned. They knew exactly what they were doing and Erik’s body desperately wanted to keep up with it, even though he was wrung out and oversensitive. He pressed his hips against Emma’s leg with a whimper.

“Just a little longer, pet,” Emma panted. “We’ll make you feel good again. Can you feel how good Charles is with his tongue? Can you taste me?” In Erik’s head, she went on to save her breath: «Fingers inside. So good. In. Out. Filling so so good. That’s the spot. So wet. The stretch. Splaying fingers.» 

Blinding white pleasure interrupted her commentary. Erik could feel Charles sucking hard on his clit, could feel his mouth sucking hard on Emma’s clit. He could feel the fingers inside him, inside Emma, as well as her wetness on his, on Charles’, fingers. He lost himself in what they were projecting at him, in their sensations. It didn’t matter that it weren’t the sensations of his own oversensitive body giving him pleasure. All that mattered was how good it all felt, giving and receiving at the same time, lost between two people he trusted entirely. He whined when Charles stopped licking and then whined again when he felt Charles pushing inside in a smooth, wet glide, filling just enough. He groaned when he felt Emma press down around the intrusion, heightening the pleasure of penetration and being penetrated at the same time. She arched her back, pushing against Charles for more. The sensations and thoughts they were projecting became more and more jumbled as they neared their climax. Erik couldn’t tell anymore what was Emma, what Charles, and what were his own sensation. It was probably his own body twitching in both pleasure and the pain of overstimulation. But there was also the hot pleasure of release spurting inside, the pressure of soft, wet, walls milking the release out…

When Erik was sure he was back in his own head, his own body, he lay flat on his back, still panting. Emma was petting his hair, while Charles was rubbing a wet cloth over his belly and groin. When he looked up, Emma bent down to kiss his forehead.

“Sorry,” she muttered against his lips before kissing him there as well. “We overdid it.”

Erik weakly shook his head. His whole body felt so heavy. All he wanted was sleep.

“We’ll take care of you now,” Charles promised, kissing Erik as well when Emma pulled back. He took a small pot from the nightstand. The last thing Erik consciously felt before he fell asleep was the cool soothing of creme being rubbed into sensitive skin.

#####

Being on board a plane was one thing, but a supersonic jet was apparently something entirely different. If not for Emma and Charles, the vibrations of the damn metal bird would have made Erik nauseous no matter how steady Hank was holding it. Despite that, Erik had to admit they’d all outdone themselves. Sean and Alex now had a decent grip on their powers, helped by suits designed and made by Hank. They all had new suits of Hank’s design. Useful, with a lot of metal in it for Erik to hold onto. Erik had wanted to praise Hank for it, but Emma had stopped him, making scorcing comments about his interpersonal skill.

Now, they were all in the jet. Charles and Emma were scanning for the minds of sailors on two warships. They’d picked something up with Cerebro, minds that Charles swore belonged to Shaw’s henchmen. Alex was tapping his foot, Sean had leaned back and closed his eyes, humming to himself. Moira was talking to Raven, going over the use of pistols for self-defense again. Erik just let his thoughts and powers wander, to anywhere but the vibrating hull of the jet.

“No,” Charles gasped all of a sudden. Emma reached over to take his hand. Both their expressions were masks of concentration.

“They’re readying their weapons. Both the Russians and the Americans,” Emma pressed out. “Shaw’s people…”

Erik and Moira exchanged a look. “You concentrate on stopping anyone from dying,” Moira commanded. “We…”

Erik got up. “We’ll try to find Shaw. He has to be here, too. He wants to be in the middle of it.” He staggered to the cockpit. “Hank, do we have sonar on this… on your Blackbird?”

“No,” Hank growled. “We don’t. But…”

“But…?”

“We have Sean.”

Erik clapped him on the shoulder. “Thanks.” As soon as he was back at the cabin, he snapped: “Sean, we need you. Come with me.” They made their way to the back of the jet. “In a minute, we’ll open that hatch and I want you to jump out and scream. Let us know immediately when the echo changes. We gotta find a submarine and you’re our best shot. Got that?”

Sean nodded. Erik patted his shoulder. “Good luck. Ready?” Upon Sean’s nod, Erik hit the button that opened the hatch. He held onto the grips and also metal of the jet to not be sucked out. Sean jumped, spreading his limbs only at the last moment. His first scream carried to the jet, making everyone wince. Erik watched him with watering eyes as Sean scanned the ocean. Eventually, Sean started to circle, rocking his wings from side to side. Erik took that as the signal. Now that he knew where to look, he could feel the submarine. He could wrap his powers around it and pull it out, probably even land it on the small island he could see in the distance. But first, he had to pull Sean back onto the Blackbird. He slapped the boy’s back, grinning at him with pride. “Well done!”

He waited until Sean was back in his seat and strapped in. Another look at Emma and Charles, then a brief exchange of nods with Moira. Erik reached out with his powers, all of them. He wrapped them around the submarine, sinking his powers deep into the metal. It was heavy, much much heavier than anything Erik had ever moved. He struggled. The submarine was struggling, too. He could feel the engine going to full speed and the submarine didn’t move. «Up!» Erik wasn’t sure whose thought that was, but he pulled the submarine up, agonizingly slow, struggling for every foot. The surface of the ocean rippled, then divided as the submarine rose up and out of the water. Erik managed to hold it up for a moment. He could hear Charles and Emma both gasp in unison. His powers were starting to give out. He couldn’t hold the submarine for much longer. But he could draw the last bit of his strength together and shove it onto shore.

Charles was by his side to steady him. Moira was telling Hank to land the plane. “What now?” Erik asked.

“Now, we take Shaw,” Charles replied.

The Blackbird shook as it set down. Hank had managed to narrowly avoid a single missle fired at them, but it meant they were coming at the island at the wrong angle. Without thinking, Erik pressed Charles against the hull with his body, sticking them to the wall with his powers. He didn’t let go until the movement stopped.

“Shaw,” he pressed out as he stepped back.

Charles nodded. «I’ll be with you all the way.»

Erik ignored Shaw’s henchmen. He was confident the kids could handle them. Shaw was the only goal that mattered. That and making sure Shaw would never hurt anyone again. He ripped the hull of the submarine open, ignoring the stylish interior. One way led to the cockpit, the other to the reactor and engine. Erik picked the reactor.

Shaw was standing in the middle of a room lined with mirrors. Erik pulled a face. This was even worse than what he’d imagined. He couldn’t even feel Charles and Emma anymore.

“Erik,” Shaw said joivally. “It’s been so long. You grew up well.”

“No thanks to you,” Erik spat back. He reached out to pull the room down around them, but Shaw moved, much too fast to be human, slamming him into the mirror wall. Shards dug into Erik’s suit but not breaching it. Erik managed to get Shaw off him with a metal beam, breaking more of the mirrors. With each broken mirror, he felt more like himself again, more like Emma and Charles had their connection with him back. He ignored Shaw, focusing on the mirrors. It didn’t matter if Shaw smashed him into the wall again and again. He could take it. He couldn’t take Shaw down alone, though. He needed Charles. He needed Emma.

«That helmet,» Emma said into his mind. «Take it off him. That’s keeping us out. I know that helmet.»

Erik nodded grimly. He didn’t think he could just take it off Shaw. He couldn’t get a grip on it with his powers. But he could distract Shaw by fighting back. Long enough to sneak a wire close enough to grab the helmet with it. 

Shaw froze as soon as the helmet was off.

«Gotcha,» Emma growled. «Got him, Charles, you can let go. Get out of his mind. And mine. I waited for this for so long. Erik. Kill him. Now. While I hold him. It’s our only chance.»

Erik hesitated. Emma would feel everything. But she knew. She’d told Charles to draw back because she knew. He closed his eyes. He didn’t have to see it. He picked a random shard of metal from the debris. It didn’t matter. Shaw didn’t matter. Not beyond keeping people Erik cared about safe from him. The shard slid into Shaw’s skull with an insistent push. Erik didn’t stop, didn’t dare to stop until the shard exited the back of Shaw’s head.

The body dropped to the ground as soon as Emma let go.

«It’s over,» she sighed. Her telepathy wrapped tightly around Erik. For a long moment, he didn’t move at all.

There were yells outside. Erik tried to ignore them, but he could also feel the canons on the warships being turned. Aimed toward them, toward a beach everyone Erik cared about was on. He hurried out of the submarine. Outside, he could hear Moira scream into the radio. Sean, Alex and Raven had managed to detain Shaw’s henchmen, standing guard over them.

He looked around to find Emma sitting on the sandy beach, with Charles standing behind her, both hands on either side of her head.

«They’re gonna shoot.» Charles’ telepathic voice was pressed, panicked.

«I can stop them,» Erik assured them. He wasn’t sure enough, though. Charles would know. So he added, «Can’t you just… make them go to sleep?»

«All of them?!»

«Yes, we can,» Emma interjected. «Together.»

Their telepathy withdrew from Erik’s mind. Helpless, he paced, his eyes fixed on the warships. He could still feel the canons being made ready for firing. He could feel the individual missles. There were so many of them.

And suddenly, they stopped. Then, the engines powered down. Emma swayed, but managed to stay upright. Erik grabbed Charles by his arm to hold him.

“Are you alright?” he asked. His free hand was hovering, unsure which of them needed more support.

“Yes,” Emma sighed. She pulled Charles down to sit beside her. Erik sat down on her other side. He put his arm around her. “It’s over.”

“Shaw’s dead,” Erik added. “We’re not being shot at with missles.”

“We can open Charles’ school now.”

“As soon as we get off this island,” Charles added. “I don’t think I can move anytime soon.”

Erik looked over his shoulder. “I think Hank might need some time to fix the Blackbird again anyway.”

“We have prisoners to deal with.”

“Raven can handle it. Rest. You deserve some rest now.”


End file.
